Teaching optics online: lessons learned from the University of Rochester’s hybrid optics master’s education program

The Institute of Optics at the University of Rochester (UofR) launched a program in the fall of 2020 for students interested in earning an MS in optics. The program is referred to as the hybrid optics master’s education (HOME). The HOME system of coursework allows working individuals to take classes remotely either synchronously with in-person MS students through Zoom or asynchronously guided by the professor. Courses are structured to be inclusive to the online learner through group projects and discussion with other in-person/online students and one-on-one interaction with the professor and teaching assistant. Each course has specific learning objectives and may incorporate a variety of technology platforms to engage the online student and create an active learning environment. The degree requirements for the MS HOME and in-person Optics MS are identical; only the form of curriculum delivery is modified. Optics faculty were enrolled in a specific course through the UofR’s Warner School of Education to develop their online curriculum. In the three short years since the program’s inception, we have gathered data on what makes a successful online master’s student in optics and how to keep the online student engaged in the classroom and connected to their professors as well as other students in the program.